Central Prison
by Smex Lemur
Summary: AU. Alchemy is strictly forbidden and anyone who has the talent, is taken prisoner, including a boy named Edward Elric. But he ain't planning on staying there. [RoyEd][AlWinry][EnvyRussell]
1. Prologue

**AN:** Again, a sort of preview I suppose. This just came to me, so I don't know how I'll continue with it xD I probably will though, I like the story so far, personally O.o. I'm just doubting whether or not to make it EnvyEd or RoyEd. I'll think about it some more X3

**Prologue**

"_Mom! Don't let them take me away! Please!" Crying. She was crying. Couldn't they see that she was crying? Couldn't they see that she was sick, that she needed him? Why couldn't they see that?_

"_Niisan! Mom, where's Niisan going? Why are you crying?" She sobbed harder. Her dress had a stain in it as she used it as a tissue. The younger brother cried as well. It was probably because he didn't like to see his mother cry like that—he didn't understand what was happening, so he wept with her, his small fist clutching her dress. _

"_Madam, does this child know Alchemy as well?" The big man in a black uniform asked her, looking at the younger brother. She hurriedly shook her head. The younger brother knew he wasn't allowed to talk about alchemy, the forbidden art. So he didn't. He just cried harder. "Very well. Please say goodbye while you can. You have one minute," the man in the black uniform said. The older brother looked scared as he was embraced by his sobbing mother._

_  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said. "Why did you use alchemy? Why did you do it in public?" Her tears were leaking through his thin black shirt. There was a pause, as he pulled back from his mother's arms and looked her in the eye with his golden gaze._

"_Because I wanted to make you happy, mom," he said. "What's so bad about that?" _

"_The time is up," the man said. He grabbed the older brother's arm and dragged him towards a fancy black car. He tried to worm his way out of the man's grip, but he was too big and too strong for the young boy. He was pushed inside the car and the last thing he could see of his mother and his little brother, were them running after the car._

"_I love you Edward!" his mother yelled. And that was the last time he heard her sweet voice. _

* * *

"Ah!" he yelled as he sat up straight in his small bed. Beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead as he clutched his stomach unconsciously. He panted heavily, eyes widened as he remembered the dream—no, memory. It was a memory. "Damn it," he muttered to himself. It had already been nine years ago, why couldn't he forget about it?

He lied back down again, the mattress on which he was lying on poking him in the back. They didn't treat their 'prisoners' well in the place he was residing at. He snorted, thinking about the awful food, horrendous guards and the old, smelly clothes. The only good thing about the place was that they had actually given him something called 'auto-mail'. He had lost his left leg and right arm in an accident when he was eight, about two months after he had been taken prisoner, so he wasn't exactly of much use to them.

Of course, when he had auto-mail, he was also required to work a lot harder.

It was a prison he was staying at, for people who knew about Alchemy and who could also use it. For how long mankind has existed, it had feared Alchemy. People could do both terrible and wonderful things with it, but unfortunately, they had usually only done terrible and awful things. Killing people, actually crossing human beings with animals… humans started to hate Alchemy and anybody who had the talent—that's why they created the prison. Central, it was called.

It stood in the middle of the ocean, on an abandoned island. If you're now thinking about some beautiful tropical paradise—you're wrong. It seemed to be always dark where they were, because the sunlight hardly reached them. It was dark, always very gloomy. Children and some adults always came by boat, which came about every month or so, bringing in many new alchemists from around the world.

The reason why the prison wasn't full yet? Because most didn't even survive two years in there.

In the time Edward had been there, many people had died. Either out of illness, because the guards had beaten them too hard or because they couldn't handle the place mentally. Edward had been there for already nine years and it pissed the guards off.

Not that all of them were bad—there were a lot of nice ones out there. Maes Hughes for example, even though he constantly talked about his daughter. Edward felt kind of bad for him, since he could only see her once every month, though he would always say, "Don't worry Edward, just one glimpse of her beauty and cuteness could last me twenty years!". He was weird like that.

Edward just thought that the whole prison was one hypocritical ordeal. Hell, they fear alchemy, yet they use it to make sure the prisoners can't use it? Humans truly were ignorant and foolish. Most of them anyway.

The head of Central was a man named King Bradley. Edward thought he was bearable—fair, but strict nonetheless. There were many guards and people who pissed Edward off and it wasn't rare for him to get punished. He was almost beaten to death once, but since he had made a promise with another guard—Roy Mustang, the biggest bastard—that he wouldn't die before him, he kept fighting. He was stubborn like that.

Besides that, there was one other thing that drove him, that kept him alive—to see his little brother and mother again. He had attempted to escape a lot of times, but it was hard without using his Alchemy. He had always failed and ended up in the prison's hospital after that. He knew he would get out of there someday, he knew because he dreamed about it, longed for it.

He knew, because he loved his family and would do anything to return to them.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.


	2. New Arrivals

**AN:** Wow, people are actually interested! –dances- I'm glad about that. I still don't know if I'll be updating this frequently, but I'll do my best n.n! Thanks for all the kind reviews!

And I'm also thinking of rewriting the first chapter… -ponders- I'm not entirely happy with it x.x… Ah well, I'll see about that x3

And, since everybody likes to see RoyEd, I shall make it RoyEd! Though Envy makes an appearance too, of course x3.

And by the way, the Homunculi aren't special in this—I'll make them either guards or alchemists, since alchemy in this world isn't so advanced here that they even _attempt_ to do human transmutation… if that makes sense x.x It does in my head xD.

Enjoy!

* * *

**New Arrivals**

Edward stared at the pink, red and orange horizon in front of him. The two guards standing next to him were chatting about the new arrivals, occasionally sharing laughs and making fun of Edward himself. The blonde didn't mind so much—the guards weren't the worst. He remembered there had been one guard, Greed (don't ask about the name, his mother must've been a crazy one), who occasionally raped the prisoners, whenever he felt like it.

Edward had been sure King Bradley knew about this, but it wasn't until one of the prisoners filed a complaint against him, that he acted upon it. Wrath had also been the reason why over fifty prisoners had committed suicide.

Roy Mustang was standing besides him on the dock, his hands behind his back and look ahead of him with stern eyes and an arrogant aura around him. Roy had recently been promoted and it was his duty to 'welcome' the new arrivals, making sure that they would listen to him and the other guards by scaring them. Edward couldn't see him doing that—no matter how stoic Roy acted, he had a heart on the inside, unlike some of the guards.

Edward was also there to 'welcome' them—it was his job to set an example for the others. He normally didn't listen so much to the guards or to Bradley for that matter, but he wanted others to be at ease with him, to make sure they didn't do anything drastic on their first day (there had been one time where a kid attacked one of the guards and tried to strangle him after the guard had called his mother a whore and had told him that he would enjoy raping him. The kid had been shot on the spot and when journalists got word of this somehow, Bradley explained that the kid had tried to escape. Things like that happened often in Central.).

Bradley had first offered this to him a year ago, when he noticed how many of the smaller children took a liking to him and how Edward managed to handle them easier than the guards. Edward had always been rather good with children and so Bradley had offered him a cell of his own and even better food, if he would keep up doing a good job and keep the kids quiet (Bradley didn't want to deal with the press so frequently). Edward had accepted, because a single cell was a very nice reward—he had always enjoyed his privacy.

After a couple of minutes of waiting, a ship finally came into sight. It was gloomy and reminded him of his arrival—it had been scary, lonely and it was awful knowing that he couldn't see his mother anymore.

"Ready, Edward?" Roy Mustang asked him, a small smirk on his face. Edward scowled at him and nodded. "There are a lot of _small_ children on board, I heard, so I'm sure you'll fit right in," he continued and waited for the usual explosion.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD EASILY BE MISTAKEN FOR AN AMOEBE!" Edward screeched, pointing a finger at him. If it had been a normal kid who did this screeching, the guards would've beaten him to a pulp immediately—but this was Edward. He was a special case and they all knew him.

"You should really learn to control that temper, Ed," Havoc said, taking his cigarette briefly out of his mouth to talk properly. Falman just shook his head in mild amusement at the antics of the prisoner, deciding it would be best to just ignore the two of them.

They had clashed from day one—Edward couldn't stand his superior attitude and Roy just enjoyed the free entertainment of getting on the much younger boy's nerves. They all knew though, that Roy had always protected Edward nonetheless. This wasn't out of the ordinary—Roy did not enjoy the way the prisoners were being treated. Had it been grown men, who had been sentenced for rape or murder than he wouldn't have complained, but these were _children_. Children who had done nothing wrong, except learn alchemy and they were being punished as if they had bombed an entire city.

But as much as Roy tried to help the children, he helped Edward the most. It had been him who made sure Edward was able to go in and out of his cell more often than the other children. He had been the one who had talked to Bradley about a single cell, he was the one who brought Edward all sorts of books to keep that brilliant young mind of his occupied. These things seemed minor, but they were a big deal for Roy and he himself didn't even know _why_ he was doing it, just that he did not want Edward to find out. The blonde had a lot of pride and Roy knew that he would rather die than accept help from Roy.

"Well, that bastard should just stop making jokes about my height!" Edward declared, his eyes narrowing. Roy instantly was reminded of the first time he had met Edward—in all those years in hell, the boy hadn't changed one bit. Sure, he was just a little more mature than he had been, but he hadn't _broken_ yet, not like all of the others. Most children would give up on life after half a year, most children would give up on _hope_, but Edward didn't. It was probably the only reason why he was still alive.

Havoc shook his head, chuckling lightly at the nerve of him. Most guards didn't like Edward, but there were few who did enjoy his energy and rudeness—Havoc was one of them.

"Did you hear, by the way? There are some older kids on board this time," he said, deciding to change the topic. Edward immediately perked up a bit. It wasn't often that older people were captured—they usually grabbed kids while they were very young and the ones that were Edward's age, usually killed themselves, simply died because of diseases, or were killed by guards. Edward was probably the oldest there.

"There are?" All three of the guards nodded.

"Only two of them though, heard they were quite the troublemakers," Roy continued. "One is sixteen and the other one is nineteen. Both male." He could see Edward's face pale when he mentioned that one was sixteen, which was one year younger than Edward. _Alphonse must me sixteen now…_

"What are their names?" he demanded.

"Russell Tringham and Envy," Roy frowned. "They didn't find out much about this 'Envy' character, just his first name and age. According to Hughes, he looks like a walking palm tree." Edward raised an eyebrow, on which Roy shrugged. "He said I would understand when I saw him."

"Hughes is coming back today then?" Edward asked him, masking his excitement. Maes Hughes usually went back with the boat in order to see his family every month, and would return with it the next day when the ship was full with new arrivals. He would sometimes stay an entire month though. Roy gave him a nod.

* * *

When the boat finally arrived, a large group of new arrivals came out. Some kids were crying, some were angry and some just seemed to be confused. But the emotion they all shared, was fear—Edward remembered feeling that when he set foot on the damned island.

He glanced over at the group, before his eyes rested on two taller figures.

The first one had blonde hair and had a pretty mature face for his age. Edward noted, with much irritation, that the guy was at least a head taller than he was, even though he was younger than him. No doubt Mustang would torture him with _that_ information. The guy—Edward figured that he was Russell—still wore his own clothes—brown pants, a white button-up shirt and black shoes. He looked angry and kind of reminded Edward of himself.

Once he had taken a good look at the other one—Envy—he completely understood why Hughes had called him a palm tree. The guy had very long, spiky green hair and violet eyes. Kind of weird features, but Edward just shrugged—he himself had golden eyes, which was rather odd as well. Envy was very skinny and dressed weird—if Roy hadn't told him that they were both male, Edward would've easily mistaken him for a girl, since the guy wore a _skirt_. He appeared to be very annoyed by the crying kids, Edward noted.

Roy did his speech, while Edward just stood there awkwardly, occasionally looking at the two older boys. The children had stopped crying briefly, so they could hear Roy talking slowly and using very small words so that even the six year olds (yes, there were even children that young that were being sent to the place) could understand him.

Edward tuned the speech out completely—it was filled with information about how things were done here and something he had heard over a dozen times already. It was quite uneventful and he instead tried to smile friendly and reassuringly at the kids. Some smiled back shyly and some just looked at him as if he were crazy, as if saying: 'What the hell are you smiling about, for Christ's sake? We're never going to see our families again and you're _smiling_! Just keep those happy facial expressions to yourself and let me sulk!'. Edward would've done the same thing, had he been standing there.

He looked over at Envy, who had his arms crossed and looked bored. The blonde shook his head mentally, thinking about how Greed would've loved him—a stubborn guy who was just begging to be broken. Greed had always loved the people who still had some fire in them, who still wanted to fight and who still had hope. Envy seemed to be one of those people and Edward prayed to God Envy wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Is everything clear?" Roy asked the group. There were about thirty new arrivals this month, which was considered a very small amount there. There usually were about seventy each month. The group nodded their heads. "Good, then let me introduce you to Edward here," he nodded his head in Edward's direction, who waved awkwardly at them. "Like you, he's a prisoner and if you have any questions, you should first go to him. He'll guide you through the first months and he'll help you adjust. Understood?" The group nodded again, like loyal dogs, before they were being guided towards the prison by Falman and Havoc.

"That went easy," Edward commented to Roy, as they walked behind them. Roy shrugged—he was always like that after new arrivals. "You okay?" Edward muttered, to make sure the others couldn't hear them. He would never admit it out loud, but Roy was a decent guy and Edward enjoyed talking to him, even though these talks usually meant him getting teased and insulted by Roy. It was something that kept his mind off the entire situation.

"Yeah, it just breaks my heart to see these kids," he muttered. Edward shrugged.

"Things should be different here," he told him. Roy nodded.

"You think you can keep a secret?" Edward raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Sure, who am I going to tell anyway? The rats?" Roy gave him a small smirk, putting his hands behind his back as he raised his head.

"I'm aiming to become head of Central. Once I am, I'll change everything here. I might not be able to get the world to accept alchemy, but I can make it easier here for everyone," he stated proudly. Edward blinked at him once, before his face broke out in a huge grin. "And I can also make sure _you_ get an appropriate high seat in the cafeteria—I heard you were having trouble reaching the table from Havoc."

Every kid looked behind them and were shocked to see that a mere prisoner was shouting at a guard.

"NICE WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT MUSTANG!"

Havoc just told them it was another ordinary day in Central.

--


	3. Routines

**AN: **Wow, an update. FINALLY XD. I just felt like continuing this suddenly –sweat drops- . And thanks for all the reviews! You guys are awesome! –bows and throws cookies-

I hope you'll review again n.n Enjoy!

**Central Prison**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 2: Routines**

Central was all about routine.

Every morning, guards would wake the children up at seven a.m. to get a shower and to get dressed. Breakfast was at eight—usually something horrid as the cook enjoyed making gruesome porridge-like breakfasts and at nine, they would be led by the guards outside for exercise, though not all at the same time.

In Central, there were different 'blocks', A, B and C. It usually went according to either age or how high the alchemic skills were—C was for the eldest children, who knew more about alchemy than any other person, and below that were the younger ones who had only experimented a couple of times. A were the girls, the smallest group and B was for the boys. Girls generally didn't have that much interest in alchemy, nor did they really have a lot of talent in it, so C didn't have any girls.

Block A would always go outside first, followed by B and then by C. By the time it was noon, they would be led inside again and would get some bread and (to Edward's dismay) milk. After that, they would get to spend their time a bit freely: there was a small playroom, a library, a room with television and radio or they could go outside and play there. At six, they would be led back to the cafeteria, where they would again get something horrid. The cook's personal favourite for this time of the day was undercooked meat, something which had cost several of the children their lives already. Edward usually did not eat it and actually had the guts to demand something healthier, like vegetables. He didn't like it personally, but he had to get in at least _some_ vitamins. The cook didn't listen to him, but if he would tell it to Roy, the next day, they would all get something more healthier.

After dinner, they would have to go back to their cell until morning arrived.

The routine wasn't too bad—it was comfortable for most kids since the disruption of their lives had already done a lot of damage to them. Children weren't meant to be taken away from their parents at such a young age and certainly not to such a horrible place as Central—Edward was glad that there was at least _some_one who cared about them and who wanted to change Central for the better.

Central was different from normal prisons, it was less strict at least, though it certainly wasn't the best place to live in. The guards were perverts (most of them), the food was nasty, the cells were dirty, the clothes didn't get washed for at least two weeks… Well, these things partly were because the prison didn't have a lot of funding. Most of the money went to the guards, who got paid quite a lot for watching the children, since they hardly got to go home.

"Come on, shortstuff," Jean said as he opened up Edward's single cell.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE CAN'T REACH THE BED!" the blonde demanded as he passed Havoc, who chuckled lightly at the energetic boy. "Hughes!" he happily exclaimed when he saw the man standing next to the cell of the new kids. "I didn't see you yesterday, I thought you hadn't arrived."

"Hey Ed, nice to see ya again," the guard said cheerfully. "I stayed behind for a couple of minutes, 'cause there was this adorable little girl there who reminded me of Elysia and she didn't want to come out! Anyway, you wanna see the latest pictures I took of my cute daughter? Look, look!" he took out a stack of photos out of his pocket and started showing them to Edward, who sighed—he already had seen enough of the man.

--

--

"Hey, you're Envy, right?" Edward asked the green-haired boy as he sat down next to him, a tray with the nasty porridge in his hands. Envy shrugged lightly, shoving a spoon full of it in his mouth.

"Yeah, and you're the shorty from yesterday," he replied lazily.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULDN'T EVEN BE SEEN BY LITTLE KIDS!" Edward demanded. He quickly threw a hand over his mouth as he glanced around—some of the guards might tolerate his behaviour, but most of them didn't. He could act that way around Roy, Jean, Riza, Maes and Fury, but there were many more who were just waiting for him to slip up. He looked around and sighed in relief when he found that none of the guards had really heard him.

"Chill out, Chibi, I didn't say all that stuff," Envy said, smirking lightly.

"My name is Edward," the blonde pointed out. "Not. Chibi," he gritted through clenched teeth.

"Whatever. Oi, Blondie!" Envy hollered through the cafeteria, earning glances from every kid and guard. The boy named Russell looked up, evidently already used to the nickname. "Over here!" Edward smacked Envy on the head.

"Idiot!" he hissed. "If you act that way around here, they'll beat you up." Envy shrugged.

"You do it too,"

"Yeah, and you think I don't get beaten up for it? Look, I get some privileges 'cause I help the guards out sometimes, but that doesn't mean they'll accept it from you," Edward said. "You really should be careful here."

"Whatever man, it's not like this is any better from death," the boy replied, before grinning as Russell sat down, followed by a smaller boy with blonde hair. "Finally man, you got groped by the guards already or something?"

"Shut up Envy," Russell muttered. "You should be more careful too, I don't think it's wise with all these creeps to walk around in that skirt," he pointed out to him.

"It's a skort, man, a skort!" Russell waved a hand.

"Whatever," he replied, turning to Edward. "Hi, I'm Russell Tringham," he stuck his hand out and Edward grabbed it.

"Nice to see one of you two has some manners," he said. Envy stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm Edward Elric, is that your little brother?" he pointed at the young boy who was eyeing his porridge with two raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, his name's Fletcher," Russell replied, nodding. "And Envy is…"

"Different?" Edward offered.

"Nah. I was looking for the word 'crazy'," the taller blonde said, grinning as he got smacked on the head by Envy. Edward grinned too—it was a lot nicer to have people his age here, he sure had missed that. "Anyway, you were the kid at the dock yesterday right?" Edward nodded. "And I have to come to you for questions, right?" Another nod. "Can I be in the same cell as my little brother? He gets scared and I don't really wanna leave him alone right now…" he trailed off. Edward blinked for a moment.

"Well, I don't know," he said, tapping his chin. "What block is he in? C?" Russell nodded. "Well, I guess you should ask Roy Mustang," Edward pointed at a black-haired man who was currently talking to Jean, in the corner of the cafeteria. The small blonde blinked as his eyes locked with Roy's for a moment and he blushed lightly, before turning back to Russell. "He's the head of block C, so he decides all that stuff."

"Thanks Ed," Russell said, taking a bite from his porridge. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Envy, who had fallen asleep, lying with his face in the half-empty bowl. "Envy," he poked him in the shoulder. No answer. "Envy!" he smacked him on the head. No answer. "Oi, palm tree!"

"Who are you calling a palm tree, Blondie!" Envy hollered, sitting up straight immediately.

"Envy!" a guard barked from the side. "Another outburst like that and I'll have to put you in isolation! So shut your trap." The group immediately shut up and continued to 'enjoy' their breakfast.

--

--

"Going to the library again, Edward?" Roy asked, smirking. "Haven't you already read each book in there?"

"I have, so I'll start over again," Edward replied, shrugging as he headed to the library. Roy always offered to guard the teen when they could spend some time freely, since he didn't trust anyone else with the boy, besides Jean, Maes and Riza and they always were assigned to guard the playroom. "Hey, you think I could ask Bradley for more books? I mean, we don't have a lot anyway…" he trailed off. Roy shrugged.

"I suppose, but we don't have a lot of money to buy them. I wouldn't count on it," he replied. "And most kids don't use the library, you're about the only one who does." Edward slumped, lowering his face to the ground.

"I know, but it'd be nice to have some more books. You know I love reading," he replied.

"Well," Roy started hesitantly, his eyes softening at the defeated look of Edward. "I suppose I could talk to Bradley for you. I'm not guaranteeing anything though," he quickly added, seeing the sparkle in the blonde's eyes. He had no idea _why_ he wanted to help Edward so much, nor did he know why he cared about this prisoner. He sighed—it probably was simply something like fatherly affection, even though it was hard to keep his eyes off the blonde lately.

Maybe he was just horny. Yeah, that was it.

"Thanks Roy!" Edward exclaimed happily, not noticing the fact that he actually used Roy's first name. The taller man did notice this of course and couldn't stop the warm feeling rising in his chest as he saw that happy grin of the boy.

--

--

Envy was not a happy man.

At all.

Sure, he could've gone with Russell and Fletcher to the little kiddie's playroom. Sure, he could've gone with Edward to the library. Sure, he could've listened to Edward when he said to be careful in this place. But did he do any of those things? Of course not. Because he was Envy, infamous for his stubbornness.

It was as if he wasn't feeling anything as he was lying there on the cold, stone floor of the closet the guard had dragged him into. He was sore and covered in blood and he just knew his face was going to swell up from all the hits he had taken.

And to top it all off: his ass hurt like hell.

"You were a nice ride," the guard said, smirking as he threw the ragged and bloody skort in Envy's face. "I'm sure they'll find you in no time, so don't you worry about that." The guard gave him another grin, before he walked out the door.

"Welcome to Central, kid."

--

--


	4. Bad news

It wasn't until later that afternoon that Edward found out what had happened to Envy. He had learned it from a shaking Fletcher and Russell, who had come to him after finding out about the news themselves. Edward had rushed to the small infirmary immediately, along with the other two blonds.

When he saw a very awake Envy lying on the small, rusty bed, he himself shook with anger as well. They hadn't washed him yet, even though it had been several hours since they had found him and there was blood everywhere. A blanket was covering his lower half, though his upper half was completely naked, with tiny goose bumps forming themselves on his arms from the cold. The older boy was grinning, yet it was forced and not the same as the one he had a couple of hours before the event—he was sitting straight, watching them coming inside and raised a hand.

"Hey Shorty, Blondie, Flippy," he said cheerfully. Edward decided to let the 'Shorty' comment slide this time and instead raised an eyebrow at Russell who shrugged.

"I have no idea why he calls my little brother 'Flippy'," he replied, answering the unspoken question. Envy didn't seem to have heard it.

"You've come to visit little old me? I'm so flattered," he continued, pretending to hold his heart. Edward sighed and sat down on the edge of Envy's bed due to lack of chairs. Russell and Fletcher decided to just stand in the doorway, not really knowing what else to do.

"Are you… okay?" Edward asked tentatively, his brows knitting together as he saw the dark look Envy was shooting him. It was amazing how the palmtree could go from cheerful to full out anger, though Edward supposed he had already been angry in the first place (what a genius, huh?).

"Do I _look _okay, Edo?" Envy hissed angrily.

"No," the blond answered truthfully. "You look like shit, but I just thought it was polite to ask." Envy blinked, before he grinned at him again.

"Well, no need to be polite around me! After all, I'm just a worthless bitch, right?" The grin became forced again and a touch of bitterness laid in his voice. Edward shot him a pitying look. "Heh, no need to feel sorry for me Edo, I knew it all along. Even my mom didn't want me, so I'm kinda used to this—at least I won't be homesick!" he continued cheerfully.

"I'll be with you whenever I can from now on, okay? I mean, I won't let this happen again, I swear it," Edward said seriously. Envy barked a laugh, not believing it one word. He ruffled the blond's hair, who looked indignant at that, but didn't say anything.

"I don't need a bodyguard, so no worries. I can defend myself," he said firmly.

"Then at least let me ask one of the guards to watch out for you. And I wouldn't try to say no, Envy, 'cause I'll do it anyway, whether you like it or not," Edward added quickly, seeing the look of protest the green-haired boy had on his face. Envy shrugged.

"Whatever, if it makes ya happy," he replied. Edward gave him a small smile. "Uh-oh, here comes the nurse," he suddenly whispered, shuddering. "She's so annoying and demanding. She's taken about five blood tests already, if she takes another one, I swear I'll stick that needle up her ass." Edward snickered.

"Visiting hour is over, now shoo! The patient needs rest, he needs to be out of here in the morning," she said, shooing the three of them out the door. Envy gave them a small wave, eyeing the needle in her hands with a pensive look. Edward, for a moment, was scared he really _was_ going to stick the needle up her ass, but shook his head. Even Envy wouldn't be that crazy, right?

…Right?

"We'll see you tomorrow Envy!" Russell called out, before the nurse slammed the door to the infirmary in their faces. They stood there for a couple of seconds, until they heard a high-pitched scream coming from inside, followed by a thud and a triumphant cry from Envy.

The three of them looked at each other.

"…I think we'd better go," Edward finally said.

The others could only agree.

* * *

"Did you hear about that guy you called a palm tree?" Edward asked as he caught up with Roy Mustang's long and quick strides. Havoc and Falkman were walking in front of them and briefly turned around to see which prisoner it was that was talking to Roy. They both gave a small nod to Edward, who nodded in return, and turned back.

"I only heard rumours," Roy answered, shrugging.

"He was raped. I think it was Greed," Edward said softly, looking around to see if nobody had heard him. Roy looked at him sternly.

"Those are some dangerous accusations, Edward. You should know better than that. I'm sure Mr. Bradley will do anything in his power to catch whoever has done that to… Envy, was it? Until the real villain has been caught, please refrain yourself from making such accusations." Edward was about to reply, yell at him for being such a bastard, before Roy's eyes flickered to the left. Edward followed them and saw a security camera, pointed directly at them. The blond nodded in understanding.

"I understand sir, I'm sorry. I must be upset about the whole affair." Edward made a small bow, all the while gesturing with his hand to the outside grounds, where there were fewer cameras. Roy nodded again and Edward, relieved that Roy understood him, stood up straight.

"Good, do not let it happen again or I'll be forced to put you in isolation." Edward nodded again and dashed off, to the play area where there weren't so much camera's.

Once he was there, he waited patiently for Roy, who came walking not ten minutes later at a leisurely pace. Edward became slightly annoyed, but didn't want to draw attention to himself, so decided he should refrain himself from yelling 'Hurry up old man, I could've grown a beard by the time you arrived'.

"You should be more careful, Edward, you could get us both into trouble," Roy said, his voice calm, but his eyes betraying his worry. Edward nodded in understanding, though not really taking note of it, before he started rambling about how Envy looked like.

"—And I think it was Greed, because it happened near the West block and he was one of the few guards assigned there. The other ones couldn't have done it, because they're not pervy enough for it," Edward shuddered briefly. "You remember how he tried to get me too, right? It was only two months ago, after all…" A dark look crossed Roy's face.

Yes, indeed he did remember.

* * *

_He was walking down the dark, cold hallway on his usual route. Well, not exactly his usual—he hadn't seen Edward today yet, so he was trying to find him, ask him how things were, if he was better yet since he had a cold the day before and just plain hear his voice again. _

_He shook his head, chuckling lightly. He sounded like a hopeless, romantic, little schoolgirl. What an utter idiot he was. _

_Roy halted near a corner when he heard voices—one filled with lust and the other one filled with fright. _

"_Stop struggling, it'll happen eventually," the husky one said, his breath heavy and fast. There was the sound a body slamming against the wall and a loud yell. _

"_S—Stop it! You bastard! Let go of me!" Roy's eyes widened when he heard the familiar voice—Edward. The other one suddenly yelled in agony. _

_  
"Argh! You'll pay for that, little brat. Just for that, I'll make it hurt so bad you wish you were never born," he said menacingly. Roy turned the corner, deciding Edward needed his help and deciding that whoever it was would definitely _die, _for touching Edward. Hell, even threatening the blond would be enough of a reason for Roy to kill someone. _

_He held up his hand and snapped his fingers together, but not before he took a good look at the scene; Edward was being held up against the wall, his eyes closed and on the brim of tears, while the new guard, Greed, was holding him up with one hand and clutching his crotch with his other one. Roy figured Edward had kicked him good and hard there with his metal leg and was briefly quite proud of him for doing so. _

_Greed screamed when he felt the heat of flames on his back and let go of Edward, who didn't hesitate one minute and punched him again, but this time with his metal arm. He ran to Roy, panting, and Roy swung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer towards him. _

* * *

"So, why did Bradley didn't want to fire Greed again for that?" Edward asked, resentment evident in his voice. Roy snapped out of his memories . "Ah yeah, because there wasn't enough evidence right? Che, retard," he muttered angrily. Roy agreed. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you, could maybe someone keep an eye on Envy for a while? You know, just in case he comes back for more or something… I don't want it to happen to Envy again, it's bad enough he has to stay in this place." Roy nodded.

"I'll make sure Havoc watches him for a couple of months." Edward nodded, grinning at the guard, who gave him a smirk back. "Though, a little midget like you should have a private guard as well." He closed his ears for the upcoming rant.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULDN'T EVEN FIGHT OFF ANTS! HUH!" Roy's smirk grew.

"Why, Edward, I never said such a thing. Wherever did you hear that?" Edward began muttering several obscenities, before stomping off. Roy watched him leaving, his smirk turning into a smile, as he remembered that he had sworn he would watch over him and would make sure Greed could never touch him again.

* * *

Several weeks later things had settled in Central—Envy was his cheerful self and acted as if nothing at all had happened, though he was still being followed by Havoc as Roy had promised. Envy did know it himself and decided he should occasionally prank his new shadow. Havoc wasn't a happy camper.

On the other hand, he hadn't been harassed by Greed ever since, which was a good thing. It most certainly was a relief for both Russell and Edward, who had started to consider Envy a friend. After all, in a place like Central, it was good to make friends and form a front against others; you needed others to keep yourself sane there.

And Edward truly was glad that Russell was a normal guy, who had almost as much willpower as he did—most kids his age had already given up and decided they would die in Central sooner or later. Russell wasn't that kind of guy; he was determined to get himself and his little brother out of there no matter what. It was only too bad that Envy didn't think that way.

"Hey, I got nothing to go back to. Might as well just die here, got nothing to live for," he had said, with a grin on his face as if it didn't bother him. And maybe it didn't, Edward figured. Maybe he had given up long before Central. But even so, if Edward would someday find a way to escape, he decided he would take Envy with him no matter what—even if he had to drag him along by that long green hair of his.

It was on a cold Monday that Edward had to go to the dock again to welcome the new arrivals, along with Roy, Maes, Jean and several other guards Edward was familiar with. There was, however, something wrong with the way Roy looked at him with pity, the way Maes shook his head whenever he made eye contact with Edward and the way Jean looked at him curiously, as if he was on the verge to answer him some sort of question.

The wind was blowing heavily, so the boat was late by twenty minutes and so this went on for twenty minutes longer, until Edward finally couldn't take it anymore and he exploded.

"Okay, what the hell is going on! You guys have done nothing but stare at me for the last hour! Will someone finally tell me what the hell is wrong?!" he howled at them, the wind muffling his yells. The guards looked at one another, before Roy decided it was best he would ask the question they had been dying to ask after they had seen the list of young alchemists that would be arriving.

"Edward, do you know an Alphonse Elric?"

Edward froze to the spot, his hands hanging limp to his sides, his eyes focusing themselves on nothing at all. As the guards looked at him expectantly, he swallowed.

"H—He's my little brother. Why?" They all looked at each other again, Jean with surprise, Maes and Roy with pity. "Why!" Edward shouted again. "They didn't get him, did they?! Tell me, Mustang!" he pleaded when they didn't say anything. Roy didn't say anything; couldn't say anything, because of that broken look Edward was giving him. His brother and mother had been the only reason he wanted to get out of Central, if he would tell him… then he would crush that metal will of his.

"They got him, Ed. He'll be arriving today," Maes answered instead, his face serious.

And as Edward saw the boat coming closer and closer, he felt his knees wobble. He was about to hit the ground when strong arms caught him and held him up.

"I'll do anything I can, Ed. Anything," Roy muttered and a small part of Edward felt relieved. He vaguely heard Jean whisper something to Maes, which sounded like 'You think we should tell him the other thing too', but decided not to pay too much attention to it.

Because Roy was just so _warm_.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Aw, some RoyEd fluff x3. Yay! Finally an update, huh? T.T Sorry it took so long. Anyway… eh… o.o Got nothing else to say. Damn. Hope you review! And yeah, the plot has finally begun moving. When Alphonse is there, we can start… -grins- Because you didn't honestly think Ed wasn't going to try to escape, did ya? x3. 


	5. Alphonse

_**Chapter 4: Alphonse**_

When the ship arrived, Edward looked anxiously at it, sick of worry, confusion and resentment for the bastards who had caught him. Roy, ever the observant one, noticed this and placed a comforting hand on his shoulders as many children were guided to the shores. Usually Havoc and the others were constantly yapping, joking and fooling around with Edward or with each other, but today was different, because today Edward wasn't his usual, cheerful self.

Yes, today was very different.

"Do you think… he will recognise me?" Edward asked Roy hesitantly. It had been so many years since they had seen each other after all. "Do you think I can recognise him? What if he hates me?" Roy shook his head, never taking his hand away from Edward's shoulder. He gave it a light, encouraging squeeze.

"I don't believe he would ever hate you," he said firmly. He really did believe it; who could ever hate someone like Edward? He was bright, cheerful, a bit of a temper; but he gave off a warm feeling, something that made everyone forgive the things he would say or do that were out of line. He was stubborn, but had a good heart and usually did the right things and he was very protective of his friends—that were certainly some good qualities any human being should have.

Roy's eyes focused on a young blond, slightly taller than Edward. His face was a little fuller, but they both shared the same determined look, though his was perhaps a bit more hesitant, and his hair was a little longer. "As for recognising him," Roy started, whispering in Edward's ear, who gave an involuntary shiver. "I don't think you'd have any trouble with that." He nodded towards the same blond and saw Edward's eyes widen in disbelief.

"A-Alphonse!" he said and despite the situation, he smiled at seeing his younger brother again. They were led in front of the guards and Edward and were placed in a line so each of them could face Roy, who gave his regular speech, as he did always, informing them about the prison, the rules and anything else that they should know. After he was done, he turned to Edward and softly told him that they would go up ahead and that they would give him and Alphonse a little privacy.

"You have five minutes, Ed, then you come up with us," he said softly, so the others couldn't hear him. Edward whispered a small 'thanks, bastard' back, before Roy turned towards the others. "If everyone will follow me in a straight and orderly line, I will take you to your designated blocks. From their, each head guard of the blocks will explain more. If Alphonse Elric would please stay here for a moment, we will come and get you shortly." Said boy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as the others were being taken away.

Once they were gone, the two brothers stared at each other for a while; Edward knew by the look in Alphonse's eyes that he recognised him, luckily, and also that he didn't hate him as he thought he would. He was instead smiling, tears forming in his eyes as he ran up to his older brother and jumped on top of him, hugging Edward with all his might as they fell backwards on the ground.

They both laughed, though giggled might have been a more accurate term; they laughed as though they were children again, childish and full of joy. They both ruffled each other's hair and sometimes one of them would grab the other in a headlock.

"I'm so glad to see you, nii-san," Alphonse said eventually, both panting from their meeting.

"I'm glad to see you too, Al," Edward said truthfully, before he pounded his younger brother on the head. "How could you get caught! Don't you know what a hell-hole this is! What about mom, huh? She's all alone now! I promised I would get back eventually, didn't I? Damn it, Al, why couldn't you just stay low?"

Alphonse smacked him back.

"I let myself get caught," he answered, smiling mischievously at his brother. "I'm going to get you out of here, nii-san, even if it's the last thing I do." Edward stared at him for a long time, before he finally broke out laughing.

"You really think it's going to be that easy?" he asked. "I've been trying ever since I got caught here!"

"Winry's helping us," Alphonse explained, ignoring his brother's laughter. "As well as aunt Pinako, though I had to beg her for help. We've been working on this for three years now; getting all the information we could find about Central, making up a plan, getting the things we need… we all want you back, nii-san, that's why we are doing this," he concluded.

"What about mom?" Edward asked him, his laughter had died out and was now left with nothing but worry. "What if it doesn't work? She'll have no one." Alphonse looked at the ground, his eyes going from serious to sad in an instant, clenching his fists.

"Nii-san… I wanted to tell you as soon as it happened. I wrote a letter to you, hoping that it would get to you, but about six months later it got sent back." Edward's heart started pounding in his throat.

"W-what are you saying, Al?" he asked him, nearly yelling it.

"Mom got sick, a year after you got taken by them," he said. "She…died a year after that. I've been living with Winry ever since." Edward clutched his fists, feeling tears stinging in his eyes.

"No way! Mom couldn't have died," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Alphonse pulled his brother into a hug and held him, smiling sadly when he felt Edward clutching his shirt. "H-how… those bastards," he gritted his teeth, and he felt hatred more than ever now, for Central. Because they had taken him away from his mother—he couldn't even say goodbye to her when she had been dying. They wouldn't even let him know that she _had _died, even though the only reason he was still living was so he could get back to them, to his family.

"We're gonna get out of here, nii-san," Alphonse said softly. "And then we'll live together like we used to, we'll go visit mom's grave so you can let her know you're alright." Edward could only nod against Alphonse' shoulder, determination shooting back into his eyes as he heard him saying it.

Yes, they would get out of there, no matter what.

* * *

A couple of days later, Edward seemed to be doing alright. He had requested for Alphonse to share his cell and Bradley had agreed to this, much to Edward's relief. He really wanted to catch up with his brother, get to know him again, learn everything that has been going on in the outside world.

Alphonse told him endless stories, about him and Winry dating each other and getting married as soon as they were going to be eighteen (Edward hadn't responded to that too well; 'Wha! You and that man-woman? I can't believe this…'), about her being a mechanic, about her parents who had died as well and many more things about Resembool. Edward loved to hear them and it made him feel as though he was there himself, it made him feel connected with the outside world and it made him feel even more determined about everything.

Well, that was when they were on camera.

During the day, the would try to find places where there were no guards or security cameras or nosy fellow-prisoners. During those times, Alphonse would explain their escape plan, what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Edward listened intently and gained some hope; he thought it really might work.

Fletcher had taken a liking in Alphonse and they would often hang out together whenever their brothers didn't have time for them. Russell would often spend his time with Envy, who had recovered from Greed, and Edward would usually go to Roy. Alphonse had warned him about the guard; he was the enemy after all, but Edward had insisted that he was a good guy and that he wouldn't betray them. Alphonse had accepted their friendship, but he had pressed on about the fact that they should be discrete and not talk about their plan with anyone—Edward had reluctantly agreed to it, though he wanted to leave a letter to the guard on the night they would escape.

Alphonse had reluctantly agreed to this.

But he had also discovered another problem with his brother; Edward refused to let Fletcher, Russell and Envy behind in Central. It would cause Alphonse and Edward a lot of problems if three extra people would come along, but eventually he gave in and decided it was for the best, even if their success rate would drop immensely. He would just have to try harder to make everything go according to plan.

The worst thing of it all was that he did not have any contact with Winry in that place, so if something would go wrong, they wouldn't know it. Of course they had agreed the exact time and place, and everything else, but that didn't mean anything if someone would get caught, or if the alarms would go off. It had to be perfect in order to escape and that was what Alphonse most feared, especially now that he could see how attached Edward had gotten to a lot of people here.

Especially Roy.

Roy was the biggest threat, the blond figured. Edward seemed to have some sort of bond with him and he seemed at his happiest whenever the black-haired man was around, despite the fact that Alphonse was now with him. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous at this, but quickly scolded himself for being so inconsiderate; after all, he had Winry as well and was happier when he was with her.

"No kidding?" Envy asked in disbelief when they had told them that they were going to escape. "Are ya fucking crazy or something?" he continued. "You think just 'cause you got outside help, everything's gonna work?"

"It will work," Alphonse said. "We've been busy with this for the past three years and now we're going to do it. You can either not try and stay here, or try and get out. It's your choice." Envy seemed to think about it for a moment, before he grinned.

"Well, even if it won't work, I guess there'll be a little adventure. It's so damn boring here! Okay, I'm in, Goldilocks." Russell wasn't convinced.

"What happens if we get caught?" he asked, looking at his little brother. He didn't fear for himself, but if they would hurt Fletcher because he had made a wrong decision… he would never forgive himself. Edward answered this time.

"They won't do anything bad, you just get horrible grub for a while," he said, shrugging. "Well, that goes for Fletcher though, since he's younger. We probably get a beating, but they won't hurt Fletch." Russell eyed him dubiously.

"You sure?" Edward nodded again. "Okay… then I'm in too, if it's okay with you Fletch," he turned to his little brother, who also nodded.

"Yeah, I want to get out of here," he said. Alphonse smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Great! Then here's what we're going to do. Remember this well, because there's no time to repeat it and we're going to do it tonight," he looked up to see if there were no guards in the neighbourhood, before he started explaining them everything.

* * *

Edward made a last stroll through Central, clutching a letter against his chest. He had ripped a page from a book, which was blank on one side, and managed to get his hands on a pen. On the back he had scribbled a small 'To Roy'.

He sighed as he looked around; he knew he wasn't going to miss the place, just the people. He knew that someday he would have to say goodbye to them, whether it was because they would get fired, or they would leave on their own, or he would die; it didn't matter. It would eventually happen, eventually he would have to say goodbye to everyone… even to Roy.

That was probably the hardest for him, saying goodbye to that particular guard. He didn't know why though; Roy was an insufferable bastard at times, calling him short all the time. He was annoying and arrogant and seemed to know everything that was going on. And still Edward couldn't help but think that he would be the one who he was going to miss the most; the one he would have wanted to take with him more than anyone else.

"Che, bastard," he muttered, with more affection than he intended, as he looked at the letter. This would explain everything, he would say goodbye in this letter, tell him that he was the best friend he could ever have. And then that was it for their relationship; then it would be over.

He snuck into his office, grinned at the sight of Roy sleeping with his head on his desk and placed the letter underneath a stack of paperwork. Alphonse had said to put the letter somewhere Roy wouldn't find it immediately.

"Heh, he won't see this letter in the next four months," he muttered softly, grinning slightly as he made sure the letter wasn't visible. After that, he took a good look at Roy, really not wanting to say goodbye to him. As if his hand was moving on its own, he fumbled with the strands of Roy's black hair smiling lightly when Roy mumbled something in his sleep.

"Riza…no…more… paperwork!" he yelled out the final word, sitting up straight with a start. He blinked when he saw Edward laughing and when he noticed he had been sleeping on the job again. He also noticed their close proximity and the fact that Edward's hand was in his hair didn't escape him either. "What were you doing here, Edward?" he asked, smirking lightly. He mentally wondered what the hell he was doing, but paid no attention to it as he continued, "If you wanted to ravish me in my sleep, you could've just asked. I wouldn't have stopped you." He looked amused as Edward was blushing furiously, spluttering incoherent sentences as started taking back his hand. Roy's hand stopped him however and held it in its place as he stood up, towering over the boy. "Was there something you needed, Ed?" he asked.

"I—I," he stuttered. "N-no, I was just…" Roy raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic behaviour—he would have normally been enraged already by the way he was shamelessly flirting with him.

"You were just…?" Roy repeated.

"I was just… going to wish you goodnight," Edward said, looking up at the taller man and grinning. Roy leaned down a little.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I can see right through those fake grins of yours, Edward?" he asked him. Edward blinked at him, pushing the other away.

"I…maybe I'll tell you sometime, okay?" he said, turning around. "I'm tired, I'll go to bed." He didn't wait for Roy to reply and instead immediately walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Roy couldn't help but feel he had somehow lost him.

* * *

**Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter ; D.**


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